


What You Said When You Were Scared

by mew_poo



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Angst, Blood, Blood and Injury, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-11-26 00:03:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18173195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mew_poo/pseuds/mew_poo
Summary: He wished he could tell Kallian this, tell him that he had no reason to worry himself. Tell him everything he had to hide because of Zanza and everything that he would say when he became scared in the face of an uncertain future.Just as Kallian had done not long ago.





	What You Said When You Were Scared

“Wake up! Oh gods, please wake up!” 

The sun above Eryth Sea had already begun to set and the creatures of the night were beginning to crawl from their dens. A slight breeze swept across the undersides of the reefs and carried with it the broken cries of Alcamoth’s prince. 

“Please, Alvis! Please wake up!” Tears gathered at the corners of Kallian’s eyes as he pressed the sleeve of his tunic against the gash on the slighter man’s temple. The action stained the light fabric a dark and ugly shade of red, but for the moment he couldn’t care less. He needed to stop the bleeding somehow or… no. He wouldn’t allow himself to dwell on that possibility. Instead, Kallian turned his thoughts to the event that placed them in this situation. 

It had all happened so suddenly. One moment he and Alvis were simply enjoying a walk through Eryth Sea, and now... this. The Ekidno had descended upon them so quickly that they barely had time to think-- much less to draw their weapons. As desperately as they fought the beast, they were no match in the end. Kallian had seen Alvis fall during the battle. A blur of teeth and claws had descended upon them, knocking the smaller man unconscious with a devastating blow to the side of the head. All Kallian could do was grab hold of his friend, run, and hope desperately that the beast would not follow them. He considered it one stroke of luck that it hadn’t. Now, the two of them were holed up in an alcove between the rocks of one of Eryth’s many cliffs. It didn’t exactly offer perfect protection, but it was better than nothing for the time being. 

It was quite rare for the prince of Alcamoth to cry, something not allowed of royalty and attemptedly trained out of him since he was very young. However, he supposed, it’s simply not possible to live a life without tears. Especially not where the people close to you were concerned. A certain panic gripped at his chest, seeing Alvis this way. He was usually so calm, so collected, one might even say passive if they did not know him well. But Kallian knew him all too well, and the lips parted in pained breathing accompanied by the tremors that wracked the slighter man’s body were as unfamiliar as the wetness beginning to drip down his face. 

He cradled Alvis’s head in his lap, hoping the slight elevation would help some in stopping the flow of red. Between the gaps in the fabric of his sleeve, he could see strands of Alvis’s thick silver hair becoming stained with blood. A few drops fell from the fabric and onto the rocky ground below. Too much, he thought. There was too much blood. A knot formed in the pit of his stomach. Before, he had been too preoccupied with getting them to relative safety to inspect just how badly Alvis was hurt. Even now, as he held Alvis as still as possible despite Alvis’s spasming muscles and his own trembling hands, he had yet to see just what was concealed beneath his shirt sleeve. Slowly, carefully, he lifted his hand away, strands of blood-dampened hair sticking fast and falling away as he withdrew. 

Kallian’s lips pinched into a hard line, and he closed his eyes, turning away almost immediately as he saw the extent of the damage. Dealing with injuries had never been his forte. Being royalty had certain perks for one squeamish at the sight of blood. Kallian’s stomach churned. This was one of those rare times he wished he had more experience with such things. Here, he was powerless. A deep, red gash crossed Alvis’s right temple, running from just over his eyebrow, and nearly back to his ear. His usually flawless skin was red and painful and torn, almost as if immediately infected by the dirt of the sea and the flesh of the Ekidno. Alvis needed help, and quickly. Kallian wished to the Gods that he could do something, anything. A few more tears fell as he returned his sleeve to cover the wound. A hot feeling welled up in his chest and stomach, burning with such intensity it nearly made him sick. If only he was more skilled with this. If only he knew what to do. If only he could help Alvis. His Alvis. 

He pleaded frantically to anyone, anything, that would listen. Choked out words between sobs, whispers hoarse with the pain of frustration. But mostly he pleaded to the man held tightly in his arms. 

“Please, Alvis.” He tried to make it sound like a command, like something worthy of waking for, but all that came out was something more akin to begging. Pitiful sounds and gasped breaths and broken pleas fell on unhearing ears, filling the night wind with haunted cries. 

He felt Alvis shiver beneath him. The chill of the ground seeping into the small man's body, and the growing wind not at all aiding in adding warmth. Kallian shifted, doing his best to block the worst of the wind from hitting Alvis. It whipped at his back, creeping up his spine, but he knew the chill came from more than just the wind. He felt agitated, like the tension in his muscles could cause him to jump out of his skin at any moment. His throat felt tight and raw, and the anxiety coursed through his chest and shoulders like some sort of strange disease. 

“Please…” He trailed off. He was supposed to be strong. Supposed to be a leader. To protect people. That was his job, and he felt in that moment as though he had failed. As though he had always failed, and worst of all, failed the person who meant the very most to him. 

“Alvis,” he began again, voice slow and heavy with pain, “I’m sorry. I should have been more vigilant. I should have protected you. I should have..” Kallian choked on his words, then lowered his voice to a low, almost reverent whisper. “I should have told you how much I love you.” He hung his head as the words escaped his lips. The usual feeling of guilt at the laws broken with these words replaced by a hollow ache in his chest. They had been through so much together. Through dragon fire and Valak’s ice. To lose Alvis now…

“Kal?” 

The small, shaky voice was one of the most beautiful things Kallian had ever heard. 

“Alvis!” Kallian exclaimed, almost startled at the rush of happiness that flooded through his body like waves on the sea. “Are you alright? I mean… I know you’re not exactly alright, I just-” He was cut off by Alvis’s hand laid gently against his cheek.

“You’re crying.” It wasn’t a question. Just a statement, a matter of fact. And Kallian had no intention of denying it. 

“I… I was so worried about you Alvis. I thought…” He hung his head again at the thought. No, he couldn’t think about that, not now. “I’m just glad that you’re awake.”

Alvis smiled slightly, and tilted his head, resulting in a sharp wince as the pain and memory of what had happened came rushing back. “Ow…” 

“Ah, no moving!” Kallian said, bringing his hands to Alvis’s shoulders to steady him. Alvis screwed his eyes shut against the pain slamming into his skull. He knew he’d be alright, in the end. 

“We need to get you back to the Capital. Can you stand?” Kallian asked, concern and tenderness lacing his every word. 

“I believe so, yes.” Alvis replied. In truth, he wasn’t quite sure if his body was ready, but either way he knew it would be of no consequence. He would not die. Could not die. He knew that… But Kallian didn’t. Alvis thought about this as they skirted the edges of the reefs, evading monster and citizen alike to make it back to the palace unseen and further undamaged. He wished he could tell Kallian this, tell him that he had no reason to worry himself. Tell him everything he had to hide because of Zanza and everything that he would say when he became scared in the face of an uncertain future. 

Just as Kallian had done not long ago.


End file.
